Tag Archives: India

“India’s main opposition Congress party on Monday named Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the country’s Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, as party president. Gandhi was elected to the post unopposed and succeeds his mother, Sonia Gandhi, for the top job in the party. The party had governed India for decades before the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party swept to power in 2014. Gandhi faces the difficult task of resurrecting a crumbling Congress party, a task made harder by a series of crushing defeats in state elections over the last year.” (12/11/17)

“China on Thursday accused India of infringing on its territorial sovereignty after an Indian drone ‘invaded’ Chinese airspace, a senior military official said. No details were given about when the incident happened, or what kind of drone it was, except that it crashed. … Tension between China and India has been simmering for months. Earlier this year, troops from the two countries were locked in a 72-day stand-off in the disputed Doklam plateau, a region that lies on the border between the state of Sikkim in India, Bhutan’s Ha Valley and Tibet’s Chumbi Valley. The Indian army said the drone was on a regular training mission inside ‘Indian territory’ but had lost contact with ground control due to a technical problem and crossed over the line of control.” (12/07/17)

“United Airlines temporarily suspended Newark-New Delhi flights due to poor air quality in India’s capital, and said some extra charges will be waived for passengers forced to reschedule. ‘We are monitoring advisories as the region remains under a public health emergency, and are coordinating with respective government agencies,’” a United Airlines spokesperson said in response to a Bloomberg query. Other airlines were still flying to the national capital and it was not clear if they will follow United Airlines’ move to suspend flights.” (11/12/17)

“The toxic haze hanging over Delhi on Wednesday thickened, leading to near zero visibility at many places, even as air quality slid further and touched calamitous levels. The air quality index of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had a score of 487 on a scale of 500, indicating ‘severe’ levels of pollution, which can affect even healthy people and ‘seriously impact’ those with existing diseases. If the score touches 500 and persists there for at least 48 hours, measures like odd-even and a ban on construction and demolition activities will come into force across the Delhi-NCR under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). … the Delhi government announced that all schools in the national capital will remain closed till Sunday in view of the ‘unbearable’ air pollution.” (11/08/17)

“In an effort to check alarming pollution level, the Supreme Court on Monday slapped a temporary ban on the sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR region during Diwali this year, dealing a blow to the traders and businessmen dealing in them. … The court stated that adverse effects of firecrackers during Diwali had led to the closing of schools in Delhi last year and the authorities were compelled to take various measures on emergent basis when faced with ‘health emergency’ situation. A dense blanket of smog had engulfed the city after the night of fireworks on October 30 last year.” (10/10/17)

“A couple of days after actor Prakash Raj voiced his disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence concerning Bengaluru journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder, a Lucknow court today asked police to register a case against him. The court’s order came on a complaint filed by a lawyer. The court will hear the case on October 7. Prakash Raj, who has won five National Awards to his credit, had criticised PM Modi over his silence on those who were ‘celebrating’ the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh and said he feels like returning his awards. Lankesh, who had strident anti-right wing views, was shot dead from close range by unknown assailants at her home here on the night of September 5.” (10/04/17)

“An Indian court on Thursday sentenced two men to death and two others to life in prison for a series of bombings that killed 257 people in Mumbai in 1993. A fifth man was given 10 years in prison. The five men were convicted earlier of criminal conspiracy and murder in the planting of 12 powerful bombs in cars, scooters and suitcases around India’s financial capital. The sentencing ended a second trial related to the bombings. An initial trial ended in 2007 with more than 100 people convicted, of whom 11 were sentenced to death and the rest to various terms in prison.” (09/07/17)

“India and Myanmar today signed11 agreements in a range of sectors, including one on maritime security cooperation, to further strengthen their multifaceted partnership. The MoUs were signed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.” (09/06/17)

“Torrential monsoon rains paralyzed India’s financial capital Mumbai for a second day Wednesday as the streets turned into rivers and people waded through waist-deep waters. On Tuesday, the city received about 5 inches of rain and it’s already hamstrung infrastructure collapsed. Public transport stopped and thousands of commuters were stranded in their offices overnight. India’s monsoon season runs from June through September, and since it began this year, devastating floods have killed more than 950 people across South Asia and affected close to 40 million in northern India, southern Nepal and northern Bangladesh.” (08/30/17)

“India has begun withdrawing troops from a disputed Himalayan region on the border with China, foreign ministries from the two countries announced Monday, defusing a tense stand-off that had threatened to provoke armed conflict between the nuclear-armed Asian rivals. For the past two months, Indian and Chinese troops had faced off on a plateau in the Doklam area in Himalayas, after Indian troops moved in to prevent the Chinese military building a road into territory claimed by India’s close ally, Bhutan. China had repeatedly and furiously denounced the Indian move as a direct infringement of its sovereignty, demanded an immediate and unconditional withdrawal, and warned that conflict was a real possibility if that didn’t happen. On Monday, the two sides announced they had reached an agreement. But it was unclear if Beijing offered any concessions in return, such as agreeing to halt the construction of the road.” (08/28/17)

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